Finite temperature QCD coupling constant —imaginary versus real time framework

The correspondence between the imaginary time and real time thermal running coupling constant is discussed. The temperature dependence is derived in pure QCD at one-loop order in a generalized momentum subtraction (MOM) renormalization scheme.     

q\bar q pair creation in a flux tube with confinement

We calculate the effect of radial confinement on the Schwinger pair production rate by solving the Dirac equation in a flux-tube cylinder containing a constant chromoelectric field in the longitudinal direction. We show how the Dirac equation separates into radial and longitudinal equations for a mass term which has an arbitrary radial dependence and introduce radial confinement by having a finite mass inside the cylinder and an infinitely large mass outside. The resulting boundary conditions are equivalent to the MIT boundary condition. The equations are solved analytically for a constant quark mass inside the flux-tube, which acts like a waveguide. The discretization of the transverse wave vector which has a continuous spectrum in the non-confined case leads to a large suppression of the Schwinger pair-production rate for small radii. The minimal radius where pairs are created decreases with increasing field strength. The suppression turns out to be larger for heavier quarks than for light quarks.     

A Tabu Search Approach for Delivering Pet Food and Flour in Switzerland

In this paper, we consider a real-life vehicle routeing problem that occurs in a major Swiss company producing pet food and flour. In contrast with usual hypothetical problems, a large variety of restrictions has to be considered. The main constraints are relative to the accessibility and the time windows at customers, the carrying capacities of vehicles, the total duration of routes and the drivers' breaks. To find good solutions to this problem, we propose two heuristic methods: a fast straightforward insertion procedure and a method based on tabu search techniques. Next, the produced solutions are compared with the routes actually covered by the company. Our outcomes indicate that the total distance travelled can be reduced significantly when such methods are used.     

Resistance of composite flywheel rim to radial tensile stresses from centrifugal forces based on results of pure bending of a rim segment

A method is proposed for evaluating the resistance of a flywheel rim to radial stresses in free rotation. The method is based on loading a rim segment in pure bending and calculating the limiting moment and the corresponding limiting angular velocity. Applicability of the method is substantiated theoretically by investigating the similarity of the radial stress diagrams in rotation and pure bending. The method is verified experimentally for the strained state of a rim segment in pure bending.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 521–526, July–August, 1993.     

Crystal and molecular structure of bis(2-isotropyliminomethinylphenyl) telluride

Scientific-Research Institute of Physical and Organic Chemistry, Rostov State University. A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Heteroorganic Compounds, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 104–106, May–June, 1991.     

Quantitative Impact of a Cognitive Modeling Intelligent Tutoring System on Student Performance in Balancing Chemical Equations

The need for improved interactive tutoring capabilities in educational software for chemistry problem solving is an important one clearly articulated by teachers and students. To deliver the next generation of individualized interactive capabilities users demand, it is necessary to go beyond the conventional computer-assisted instruction methodology. The focus of this paper is the assessment with first-semester general chemistry students of a recently developed artificial intelligence (AI) tutor for balancing chemical equations. This is the first such assessment of an AI-based learning tool in chemistry. Students in CHEM 121 in the Fall 2001 semester at Duquesne University (N = 273) participated in the study. Students were divided into a test group that used the AI tutor as part of their study activities and a control group that did not use the tutor. It was found that the tutor improved the performance of the test group students to a statistically significant degree, helping the weakest students the most. This study establishes the feasibility of an AI-based approach to creating advanced new tutoring software for chemistry problem solving. Access to a Web-based demonstration of the equation-balancing tutor may be obtained by emailing the corresponding author.     

Corrosion products on steel 20 in aerated hydrazine solutions: Mössbauer study

Composition of corrosion layers on steel 20 in aerated solutions with hydrazine concentrations less than 11 ppm was studied at 50, 60, and 80°C in dynamic conditions by transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction as supplementary technique. Corrosion rates were determined by gravimetric method. A comparison with corrosion in water at 80°C was made. The observed layers have not any protective character. For 0.1 m/s linear velocity, they are composed by nonstoichiometric magnetite, (Fe_3?x O₄,x=0.02–0.04) with lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) as secondary phase at 50°C. Haematite (α-Fe₂O₃) is observed at 60 and 80°C with a 19 nm particle size. It becomes smaller for higher velocity (0.7 m/s).     

The Most Critical Path in a PERT Network

The classical PERT approach uses the path with the largest expected duration as the critical path to estimate the probability of completing a project by a given deadline. However, in general, such a path is not the ‘most critical’ path and does not provide the smallest estimate for the probability of completion time. This paper studies the ‘most critical path’ problem and formulates it as an optimal path problem in a deterministic network with a two-attribute fractional objective function. An exact solution approach is presented for the optimal path problem which also gives the solution to the most critical path problem. The illustrative examples as well as our computational results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm provides estimates for the probabilities of completion time that are much more accurate than those of the classical approach.